What Dreams May Come
by CuratioLethe
Summary: Perhaps the things of dreams are much deeper than they seem.


Images came and went. Scenes and scents and taste burnt themselves into her brain like a brandishing whip and were just as quickly erased in a flicker of gold.

A black hole and an impossible planet.  
The taste of lips the captured her own while the whole of time itself burned inside of her.  
The iron cold clasp of steel around her arms as she watched on.  
Arms that pulled her closer then they ever had, securing her and the crinkle of leather being a solid source of comfort while the world around her seemed to be spinning madly out of control.  
The shattering of a mirror that echoed painfully like her own heart.

A hand always in hers.  
The void.  
Her fingers slipping..  
Hours that never seemed to end.  
A beach.  
Desperate hopelessness that stole her breath.  
Despair that cut.  
Two Words.  
Bad Wolf.  
Two Words.  
"Rose Tyler-"  
The screaming. The shaking.

No, wait. That was real. That was her.  
And two arms were wrapped around her shoulders, a body cradling her own and the familiar double beat of hearts where her head was pressed against as hands shakily stroked her face.  
Her throat was burning, her face felt wet and she couldn't seem to stop screaming. Because as the images were suddenly slipping from her grasp on them, they left behind a heartbreak that was crippling and terror that was all consuming in their wake.

"Rose! Its alright, its just a nightmare! Come on Rose, wake up!"

And then she couldn't scream anymore, instead turning her face into his jacket, hoarse sobs causing her body to wrack even further and his fingers slid through her hair, down her back and he whispered nonsense that she couldn't quite figure out but did little to soothe her anyways.

She clawed at his jacket trying what she could to pull him closer, even closer then they were already, because if there was one thing she was sure of, whatever had caused these horrible feelings, they were centered around him. Of losing him.

"Shh, Shh… I've got you, I'm here."  
His lips brushed her forehead and he held her, as she cried desperately, her voice muffled in his jacket. Time was irrelevant and somewhere in the back of her uncontrollably frenzy, she realized he had made no attempt to leave, he only held her closer.

Finally, her eyes refused to produce any more tears and she lifted her face, too exhausted to feel the shame she felt would be appropriate for the occasion. She expected an second hand embarrassment at best and tightly controlled disdain at worst, but instead was only greeted with sincerity and a stricken look of worry instead. He brushed a hand against her cheek, pushing tear dampened strands of hair that had stuck to her face behind her ear and offered her a gentle smile.

"You still breathing down there?"

She nodded and swallowed, her throat scratchy and she wasn't sure she trusted the use of her voice quite yet. His eyes expressed a soothing warmth that traveled the length of her spine, tingling places inside of her that were inexplicably cold. He inhaled deeply, his relief evident.

"Whatever it was, Rose. It was only a dream. I'm not going anywhere."

She wondered joltingly if he had perhaps caught a glimpse of whatever the nightmare had been of and if so, at what point she had started screaming. She nodded regardless and took a shuddering breath, latching a hand onto the lapel of his jacket, pulling his face closer to her own, and he met her the rest of the way, brushing his lips in a chaste kiss against her own.

It did her wonders and she pushed back just so. They lost themselves in the wonderment of each other, him offering her all the comfort he could and her receiving in a desperate sort of acceptance. The contact sparked something in the back of her mind and she broke the contact, only to stare up at him instead.

"S-Stay with me?"  
"Of course."

Just as he had been. Every night since the near miss at Canary Waff. She had managed to hold on just a few seconds longer,the few seconds long enough that as she sailed through the air, those precious moments gave the void time to close. She had hit the wall with a resounding crack and had been left with a fractured wrist and several bruises. But they would both take it over the alternative.

He rolled her over onto her side, and curled up behind her, allowing their bodies to mold to each other and he held her tightly the rest of the night, sporadically pressing tender kisses into the nape of her neck and hair line.  
She inhaled a shaky breath and allowed the comforting warmth of his body around hers to seep throughout her.  
Her Doctor was safe, and he was here. They were together, just as they should be.  
Forever.


End file.
